Tillie Burden

Tillie Burden (born 1982) is an Australian glass artist based in Småland, Sweden, whose work combines the vibrant colors of her homeland with Scandinavian craft traditions. Educated at Monash University in Australia (2001–2003), the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts on Bornholm (2007–2010), and the Orrefors Glass School (2012–2013), she has established herself as a master of blown and hot-formed glass, reinterpreting everyday objects and nature-inspired themes into poetic compositions of realities, half-truths, and unrealities.

Tillie draws inspiration from surrealism and symbolism to explore the humorous and absurd in our psyche, often with playful elements of puns, sexuality, and unexpected forms—as in the works Banana Dog or the tropical glass flowers and shells that capture a dreamlike tropical flora. Her sculptures, such as tropical flowers in glass sculptures or surreal animal forms, invite the viewer to question the filter of truth and experience glass as a living, narrative surface. Through techniques such as blown glass and hot forming, she creates visually striking objects that blend functionality with artistic poetry.

Based in Småland’s glass kingdom since 2015, at The Glass Factory in Boda, Tillie has exhibited globally – from Melbourne to Copenhagen and Lausanne – and her work can be found in collections such as Mudac Design Museum and Glasmuseet Ebeltoft. She has produced limited editions for artists such as Joakim Ojanen and received awards such as the Bengt Heinz Prize. Tillie’s art is a bridge between continents and traditions, an invitation to playful reflection where the transparency of glass reveals the hidden and the absurd in everyday life.